10 years ago when we founded Change Sciences, times were different. Going out and leasing office space was often the first thing a startup would do, sometimes at great expense. It was even more fun if you were playing with someone else's money.
We're not that ashamed to admit that we once fell into this trap. Even though we weren't playing with VC money, we thought it was pretty important to have space. Where would we put all the employees? Where would the clients come visit us?
It took us a while (and one long commercial lease) to figure out that our clients rarely wanted to come visit us. They preferred for us to come to them. Duh.
We also learned that hiring local employees presented its own problems. A business like ours thrives on brainpower and talent. Being a virtual company lets us hire people based on how good they are at what they do, not where they live.
These days most people are comfortable with a virtual, distributed workforce. About half of all IBMers have no cube or office. As anyone who has spent any time in a cube can attest, this is a good thing.
We still have a physical address because we sometimes need to get snail mail. This address is in Manhattan. If you want to meet us there, just let us know. But we're happy to visit you at your office, or if you're like us—working from where you like, even sometimes in your pajamas—let's set up a call.